Diagnosis – Finborough Theatre, London

Writer: Athena Stevens

Director: Ché Walker

A police interrogation cell. A shuttered window, a computer screen. A vulnerable woman in a wheelchair is brought into the station for questioning after throwing a punch at a man in a bar. She is agitated, emotional and angry, especially when a fresh-faced, rookie cop heads off to the station at Villiers Street, which flanks the Strand and Victoria Embankment just behind Charing Cross. The subject for questioning vociferously insists he must not go; he must be fetched back. But what’s all this about?

Athena Stevens, the individual in the wheelchair, has a special gift and sees what others cannot. Not only as a drone controller for London Underground, but through an extra-sensory power, one of portents and premonitions. She sees if others are unwell or will receive a future diagnosis that will change their lives forever. She also sees impending ecological disaster, such as the catastrophic flood about to hit Villiers Street in one hour. These extra-sensory messages appear as a series of lights complete with dates above the heads of those who will be affected. The Officer (Ché Walker, who also directs) is sceptical, patient and refuses to entertain her messianic rants.

The use of multimedia in the world premiere of Diagnosis is highly effective. Designed by Juliette Demoulin with lighting by Mark Dymock, the use of surveillance and oppressive society is a theme throughout. The audience becomes the Citizen Advisory Panel, who observe behind a two-way screen. While we watch the action unfold on stage, we also see the video of the interrogated woman in close-up. We witness her anguished expressions, distress and frustration, which is so powerfully conveyed by Stevens, you believe there really is a flood on the way and that we are all in imminent danger. Weird on-screen video effects create a sense of disorientation and discombobulation.

Ted Walliker, who plays the Rookie Cop, is seen very briefly at the beginning of the play, and then we only hear him thereafter on his radio. It would have served the narrative to spend more time and create more sympathy for this character as he enters the imminent disaster zone, rather than just a disembodied voice, reporting on weather and foxes. This aside, Diagnosis is 65 minutes of taut, gripping, speculative drama that asks some difficult questions.

Athena Stevens, former Playwright in Residence at the Finborough, is an Olivier Award-nominated writer, performer, social activist and academic. She also has cerebral palsy after suffering a serious brain injury at birth. Her life has been devoted to the arts, “advocating for cultural dialogue…that engages with the realities of power and vulnerability.” Diagnosis is part of this mission and will permit audiences to experience a sense of powerlessness in the face of life-sapping bureaucracy and patriarchal power. Do the impenetrable rules, read out with mind-numbing exactitude at the start of the play, really protect individuals? Or are they an air-filling illusion?

Brave, challenging, and confrontational, Diagnosis works on multiple levels. As a slice of dystopian life, a brilliant, intuitive prophet sees the future and could make things better, but is ignored by systems, regulations, and red tape. It also works as an allegory or metaphor, conveying how the disabled are treated differently, ignored, and tidied away, especially if presenting inconvenient truths to power. Despite the knowledge she bears, the visionary in her wheelchair may as well be mute or invisible. It’s a damning social indictment and sure to make audiences reflect and question both societal norms and personal attitudes.

Runs until 7 June 2025